Our research on governance, power relations, participation and citizen engagement, informs change processes in pursuit of social justice and social change. With power and politics central to our analysis, we support the generation of new evidence that contributes to improved processes for good governance, citizen engagement, empowerment and accountability.
We pioneer new ways of working with governments, communities, activists and academics, to understand the complex relationships and processes that exist across states, markets, and citizens, and between formal and informal institutions, to tackle issues such as digital inequalities, women’s participation and empowerment, decentralisation and local governance, rapid urbanisation, migration, taxation and domestic resource mobilisation, food security and hunger and nutrition. These draw on our extensive expertise in complex approaches to how change happens. Through our research and policy partnerships we are also bringing new insights on the role that rising powers and emerging economies such as China and Brazil have in relation to global governance and tackling development challenges such as sustainability and poverty. Our world-renown participatory research has a particular emphasis on systematic social exclusion facing women, people living in extreme poverty, people with disabilities, slaves bonded labourers, indigenous peoples and others. We advance cutting edge methodological development in action research, participatory visual methods, participatory mapping, participatory statistics, participatory Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) amongst others.
In alignment with the ‘leave no one behind’ framing of the UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development, the PMA programme is working with groups of people living in poverty and marginalisation to strengthen processes of citizen-led accountability.
The International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD) provides research evidence that supports developing countries in raising domestic revenues equitably and sustainably, in a manner that is conducive to pro-poor economic growth and good governance.
Back in March, the Knowledge, Evidence and Learning for Development (K4D) team sat down with a group of water experts to discuss practical approaches and policy priorities to tackling the global water crisis ahead of COP26.
We discussed how climate change issues can be redefined as...
'Data Driven: How local data and social innovation can help make cities inclusive and safe' analyses the city as a complex system, and brings 'smart' solutions to complex urban issues. This is part of the Global Urban Lectures Season...
As India marks Independence Day (15 August), IDS colleagues are joining calls for the immediate release of students and activists in prison in Delhi, including former IDS student Devangana Kalita and her Pinjra Tod (‘break the cage’) co-founder Natasha Narwal.
In an open letter the...
India marks its 73rd year of freedom from colonial rule on August 15th, still claiming the mantle of the world's biggest democracy and a secular state where citizens’ constitutional rights are guaranteed. But those who have been paying attention to India are not celebrating. Covid-19 has given...
In many countries around the world, religious minorities face discrimination, marginalisation and violence. On the anniversary of Pakistan’s Independence, Siobhain McDonagh MP, Chair of the UK All Party Parliamentary Group for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, highlights how Ahmadi Muslims are...
Covid-19 presents a time to redefine vulnerability; however, in discussions of vulnerability, the health workforce, particularly in regard to their psychosocial well-being, is often forgotten. Healthcare workers (HCWs) in fragile settings are constantly exposed to health system shocks,...
The UK's Department for International Development is respected the world over for the lead it has taken over the past two decades on the issue of corruption. Robert Barrington, Professor of Anti-Corruption Practice at the Centre for the Study of Corruption, University of Sussex, examines how a...
Heritage is commonly perceived as being about a passive preservation of the past, passed down from one generation to the next. In reality, however, heritage is dynamic and shaped by the ways in which we choose to use and interpret it. This possibility of change and adaptation makes it very much...
A recent IDS initiative with partners in China has helped to strengthen cross-country networks and foster future leadership for development globally.
Global development is at a turning point. Traditional approaches to development are being increasingly questioned by governments, practitioners...
In this episode of Between the Lines, IDS Head of Knowledge, Impact and Policy, Kelly Shephard, talks to author and broadcaster, Helen Lewis about her book, Difficult Women: A History of Feminism in 11 Fights.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2vj8gFstqwP76Agwx1Z8Cf
In looking at the...
From 12 August 2020 until 2 September 2020
Why learn with us.
In an extraordinary time of challenge and change, we use more than 50 years of expertise to transform development approaches that create more equitable and sustainable futures. The work you do with us will help make progressive change towards universal development; to build and connect solidarities for collective action, locally and globally. The University of Sussex has been ranked 1st in the world for Development Studies for the past five years (QS World University Rankings by Subject).